Fiesta Noodle Bake

A few weeks ago I got to spend a precious weekend babysitting my favorite little sweeties while their parents went on their annual choir retreat. Here we are making cupcakes (I’ll share the recipe very soon) to surprise mommy and daddy! They actually had more fun making these cupcakes than eating them. I just enjoyed watching them have fun!

I didn’t want to surprise my friends with just dessert (not that there’s anything wrong with that – hah!) but I didn’t want them to have to think about cooking when they returned home after a two hour drive. I decided that a warm gooey casserole was just the right welcome home dinner.

This recipe started out as a simple beef and noodle casserole but I thought it was kind of bland so I kept playing with the flavors until I got it right. In the end it turned out pretty good so I’m sharing it with you. Pray about someone you can make it for. There’s always someone who would be blessed to receive a warm, cheesy casserole

Fiesta Noodle Bake

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small green pepper, finely chopped (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 15 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• dash of cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons chili powder (or more to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 10-12 ounce package wide egg noodles
• 8 ounce tub (not brick) of cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 box spinach, thawed and drained of all liquid
• 6 green onions, sliced
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking up meat as it browns. After it is cooked through, drain the fat and then add the green pepper, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes and then stir in tomato sauce, sugar, cinnamon, chili powder, red pepper flakes and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.

While sauce is simmering, cook noodles as directed on the package and then drain.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13×9 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream, spinach and green onions. Add the warm, drained noodles to the mixture and stir to coat the noodles completely. Add the sauce to the noodle mixture and stir to combine. Transfer to prepared baking dish. Cover with the shredded cheddar cheese and bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly and the cheese is melted.

Sweetest Blessings,
LeAnn